ELLA
Finding myself accidentally being the 'ringleader' of this bunch of hoodlums, as the old lady doctor sees us, I said, "While these 'wise' old people decide how to end this day, why don't we evaluate the day for ourselves?”
Chris's head loomed large as he directed the cell on himself, "I have to admit I was surprised at their ignorance. Our school staff has spoiled us, especially our Tator, Sam. What about you Bayshore guys; what do you think about our day?”
Veronica of Bayshore said, "I learned a lot from you Two Thousand Smiles guys. First, that there is a place in the world where us kids can talk and say what we think and not be shushed up or scolded or told we are too young to think such a thing - whatever it is. And I'm going to start acting and talking freely, like you guys, and see how long it takes before I get kicked out. I'm looking forward to talking to our teacher about today. And, oh, I'm glad to get the $50." She held a smirk for a few moments, then turned it into a charming smile.
Danny said, "I lived in Mississippi and went to a school there, and I thought it was just the way normal schools are. Now that I'm at Smiles, I see that schools can be joyful places. And now I bet that old lady doctor is still stuck in that old-school style. The old man doc seems a lot more open, and the two younger ones are open as well. I hope they are doing something in their teacher training classes, if that is what they are doing, to help implement our philosophy. Maybe we have educated them.”
Bob, the kinda old thinking guy from Bayshore said, "I'm not as enthusiastic as you guys, and I feel sorry for Dr. Phyllis Langton, and I like her ideas better than your Dr. Collins and you wild guys from School of Two Thousand Smiles – what a dumb name for a school.”
I thought Olivia would shake herself out of her wheelchair as she stuttered, "Wha..,wh.., what woo..uld yaya..you like.. to ca..ll a s..ch…ll?"
Bob looked down his nose at her and smirked as he looked around at all of us and said, "What did she say?”
I was afraid Danny was going to hit him as he grabbed Bob's shirt collar with his left hand and pulled his right hand and arm back. Joe Jackson quickly grabbed Danny's right arm and shouted, "Don't waste your energy on that scum bag." Joe bent down and, with his face only inches from Bob's face, very fiercely said, "You aren't good enough to even clean her shoes, you piece of shit." Nearly all nineteen of us clapped, and Bob just stubbornly looked down his nose at all of us.
I looked over at Olivia and saw that she was crying. Lucy Ma, Olivia's speech helper, said, "Olivia says she is sorry for causing so much trouble.”
I almost screamed, "Olivia, you didn't cause any trouble - that arrogant, heartless bastard over there," I pointed at Bob –" did. And I'm glad that all the rest of our fifth graders agree with me." I turned to Bob and asked, "Bob, does your school teach you to be bigoted and heartless, or has this been an independent study of yours?”
Nearly all nine of the Bayshore kids yelled. "Independent study!" Veronica said. "I didn't know Bob was so bigoted.”
I asked her, "You didn't know that about him? How long have you known him?”
In a near whisper, she said, "Four and a half years – since first grade. Now I'm thinking that I don't really know him at all. In fact, the only one I really know here today is Elaine." She nodded to the girl sitting next to her.
Chris, looking concerned, said, "I think that is so sad. We know one another like we are all brothers and sisters - that is, all 20 of the 5th graders and many of the rest of the 240 students at Two Thousand Smiles. Danny has been with us for only four months, and I think of him as a brother. Sam, our Tator, coaches us all to treat other people as persons with feelings, thoughts, and lives and not as roles or objects. I’m guessing that your Bayshore teachers don’t care about that, do they?”
Veronica responded, "They just tell us not to embarrass them, meaning the teachers and the school.
I said, "Hey, all you Smiles people, let's sing our class song for our new friends.' In my best imitation of Danny's drawl, I added, "O'kay ya'ahl, gather round." As they gathered around me, I added, "And, Bob, listen because this is your punishment for upsetting Olivia." I grinned; my classmates smiled, and the Bashorians looked amused and confused but remained attentive. And we began to sing the song we had created from Sammy Fain and Paul Webster's song, Love is a Many Splendored Thing:
School is a many splendid Thing
It's the enlightening lamp that only shines in open minds
It's nature's way of giving a reason to be living
It's the human way of connecting.
And the only way of growing and bringing peace to our weary world so needy, And it begins at birth and grows in schools.
Through laughing, dancing, connecting, reading, smiles, and joy.
Yes, real schools are very splendid things.
School is a many splendid thing.
We all smiled, and all the Bayshorians except Bob joined us and clapped. Veronica responded, "I can't imagine us ever creating a song together. How did you people in Monte Vista manage to get such a school?"
"I'm glad you asked; Sam, our Tator, short for facilitator, went to a graduate school that was created to spread these ideas. My grandfather was the co-founder of Two Thousand Smiles Schools, met Sam in the doctoral program, and invited him to start this school. Sam doesn't like administration duties, so he accepted the challenge to set it up if he could be a facilitator, not an administrator."
She said, "Thank you, and I'm going to see if there is a Smiles school close to us and if not, I'll nag my mom and dad to find a way to start one."
The 'big' people began trooping back in to join us.
